Ball State : 5 things to watch

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The Ball State men?s basketball team returns to the court Friday on the road against Bradley at 8 p.m. Here are five things to watch this season as the Cardinals look to improve on last year?s 7-23 campaign.

1. ESPN

This season will be the first in which every Ball State home game will be available for streaming through ESPN3. It?s part of a television deal the Mid-American Conference and ESPN signed just over a year ago. Three schools were prepared for live streaming last year, and Ball State is included in this year?s group of three schools to be decked out for the live stream.

2. Transfer players with high expectations

Naiel Smith started his career at Texas State, then played his sophomore season at San Jacinto junior college. Head coach James Whitford saw Smith play in the National Junior College Athletic Association National Tournament and fell in love with his passing ability. Smith will start for Ball State this year at the point guard position.

He?s a gritty competitor that likes to play head games with other players, and he?ll sneak a few no-look passes in here and there.

Nate Wells, a senior who moved to Ball State from Bradley to pursue a master?s degree, is a 7-foot-1 guy that got a lot of calls from coaches when looking for the perfect public relations program. He?s a bit lanky, and prefers a mid-range to outside game over the low-post, but he?s also really tall. Wells should be a big defensive help this season.

3. Young guys with a lot of potential

Trey Moses, forward out of Eastern High School in Kentucky, is a big guy that has outdone himself in the offseason. Whitford has been impressed with his ability to pick up new concepts as a freshman. With a lack of height and depth inside, Moses might be a guy that gets some minutes this year. He could also be a guy that gets redshirted.

While Moses is the team?s second-tallest player, and the only one the roster listed as a center other than Nate Wells, he is still going to be fitting in between a lot of experienced guys at the four-spot.

With newcomer Tahjai Teague likely to line up as a forward, there is going to be some crowding of the floor in that area. There?s also Bik Gill, Bo Calhoun and a few other guys that could line up at that position. With Moses especially, it?s a matter of whether he should be asked to contribute now, or looked at as a long-term player to be developed.

4. The program

It?s no secret Ball State has struggled in its first two years under Whitford, with just 12 wins between them. But for the first time, Whitford has a significant number of returning players. That includes Jeremiah Davis, Gill, Calhoun; and Ryan Weber ? all veterans. Rocco Belcaster, Sean Sellers, Francis Kiapway, Jeremie Tyler and Franko House are all returning as well.

There are four transfer students and three freshmen that make up the remainder of the roster. Whitford says he feels like for the first time he?s working with fewer new guys than returners ? and that?s a welcome change of pace.

Whitford?s mix of transfers, recruits and Ball State veterans will be tasked with establishing the team?s culture. It just hasn't happened yet, but this group has bought in and seems excited to pull the program up by its bootstraps.

5. The preseason polls

Ball state was picked to finish last in the MAC Preseason Poll, receiving a league-low 33 first-place votes. Central Michigan received the most first-place votes, 138, and is favorite to win the MAC West in 2015.

The Chippewas return all five starters and could very well repeat last season?s regular season league championship. Oddly enough, one of Ball State?s two conference wins last season came against Central Michigan. Point guard Zavier Turner, who is no longer with the team, dropped 21 points in the victory.

The Cardinals finished last season 7-23 with a 2-16 mark in conference play. Those two wins were over Eastern Michigan and Central Michigan, but Ball State followed those wins up with a 17-game losing streak to end the season. It?ll be interesting to see if any kind of hangover from that losing streak carries over to this year.

 

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Consider this, Bradley fans . . .
As Bradley basketball embarks on another rebuilding project, here are 10 things to consider about the program, where it has been, where it is and where it might go.

1. Let?s get real
Don?t be surprised if the won-lost record during Brian Wardle?s first season as head coach of the Braves is awful. Maybe the worst in school history. They might not win six games.
The active roster counts one senior, one sophomore and 10 freshmen. And they are not Kentucky?s freshmen.
But some of these kids could develop into pretty good college players and help put Bradley back on track to respectability and ? dare we dream? ? conference championship contention and meaningful postseasons.

2. Epic rags to riches
The last time Bradley contended for a Missouri Valley championship was 2001, when the Braves placed second to Creighton in the regular season and lost the tournament title game to Indiana State. During the next 14 seasons:
? They posted a winning record against only two MVC rivals: Evansville (16-12) and Indiana State (16-14). Their overall record against Valley teams was 106-169 (.385).
? They were out of the race by Feb. 1 every year and finished as high as fourth only twice.
? They tied for last place once. Twice, they finished alone at the bottom.
But don?t despair. From 1990-2001, Wichita State went 79-145 (.353) against MVC teams, tied for last once, placed higher than sixth only twice and won but three Valley tournament games. Since a four-year rebuild, the Shockers in the past 10 seasons are 135-66 (.683) against the league, have won four MVC titles and a postseason NIT, reached the NCAA tournament five times and the Final Four once.

3. Mirror the Cubs
While the Cubs infamously haven?t won a World Series since 1908, nor played in one since 1945, they finally are on a solid track with a coherent plan. This began with a change in ownership, which burned down the entire rotten, losing culture and started over: new head of baseball operations, new GM, new scouting system, new player-development plan, new players, new manager and coaches.
Bradley?s futility streaks are not so bad. But since January, Bradley has done much the same thing: new president, new athletics director, new basketball coaching staff, new players.
Even though the extreme youth movement will cost Bradley a few wins this season, building with freshmen is the right way to go. Four- and five-year players are the heart of sustained basketball success stories at other private schools that don?t invest in big-time football.
Institutionally, Bradley does not want to be a haven for junior college transfers. It?s time the basketball coaches stop fighting the administration on this point.

4. Know who you are . . .
And don?t try to be something you?re not.
Bradley is not Wichita State.
That doesn?t mean Bradley cannot achieve similar basketball success. But BU must do so within the cultures of the institution and Greater Peoria. It?s incumbent upon Wardle to establish a coherent identity ? something that has been missing at BU since midway through the Jim Molinari regime ? then recruit the best possible players who fit that identity and coach them to perform at a high performance level.

5. Educate the millennials
What every potential Bradley fan in the under-35 generation should be taught:
? Bradley played in two Final Fours, taking second place in 1950 and 1954, and the 1950 team finished the regular season ranked No. 1 in the nation.
? In this order: Hersey Hawkins, Gene ?Squeaky? Melchiorre, Chet ?The Jet? Walker.
? Bradley in the 1960s posted the nation?s ninth-best winning percentage (.727).
? Robertson Field House (home of the Braves from 1949-82) rocked as hard and as loud during Bradley games as any arena you see on ESPN today.
? Squeaky was fouled.

6. Times have changed
Bradley is no longer among a handful of schools that recruit African-Americans to play ball. Bradley never played big-time football and never will. Peoria is a relatively small TV market. In other words:
? Beginning in the mid-1960s, racial integration dispersed a vast talent pool throughout college basketball.
? Without big-time football, Bradley does not have equal access to the intercollegiate athletics power structure, nor the resources to invest tens of millions of dollars a year to keep pace in a basketball arms race.
? Playing in the No. 117 TV market, Bradley lacks clout ? and, therefore, choices ? when it comes to potential conference realignment considerations.
So, stop pining for things to be the way they were. The clock is not turning back.

7. Mission: Possible. So why not Bradley?
Against the odds, several private, basketball-centric schools have branded themselves as legit players on the national stage in the last 15 years: Butler, Creighton, Gonzaga, Xavier ? If them, why not Bradley?
Each of those programs took a different approach to get where they are now. But here are the common threads:
? They conceived a plan, implemented it and stick with it.
? At their core, they?ve relied on four- and five-year players.
? They?ve hired top-notch coaches and, in the cases of Butler and Gonzaga, established an internal line of succession to the head coach?s office.

8. All the right moves
The core of Bradley?s extraordinary fan support is in Peoria?s grass roots. Peoria native Chris Reynolds, hired away from Northwestern in March to be Bradley?s athletics director, knows that. More important, he understands that.
Reynolds has worked hard to rebuild bridges to the community, doing a million little things to restore faith and good will among fans who have felt under-appreciated and pushed aside.
And from his first day, Wardle?s style resonated with the fan base, as he established a no-nonsense climate with the team. He has staked the future on freshmen, discipline, hustle and a commitment to the process.

9. Just win, baby
The biggest bunch of bunk I?ve ever heard from Bradley basketball fans was repeated throughout the Molinari Era, which produced the Braves? most recent MVC championship, in 1996:
?I?d rather lose fast than win slow.?
No, you wouldn?t.
Losing fast sucks as much as losing slow. I like up-tempo basketball. But I like winning a lot more.

10. No flukes
In 2006, Bradley got hot for the final month of the regular season, snagged the last at-large bid to the NCAA tournament, then upset Kansas and Pitt to reach the Sweet 16. It was a great ride. And then it ended. With one insignificant exception, every season since ?06 has been worse than the one before it.
Since the graduation of Hersey Hawkins in 1988, Bradley has won one MVC championship and played in two NCAA tournaments.
Bradley?s first mission is to become competitive again. The second is to contend for and win Valley titles. Doing so will give the Braves opportunities to play in the NCAA tournament. Dance on a regular basis, and Sweet 16s won?t be a once-in-a-lifetime experience.


Bottom line


OK, fans, here?s the deal.
After years of mediocrity and losing, I know it won?t be easy, but be patient. Yes, the bottom line is winning, and there won?t be much of that this season. Might not be a whole lot next season, either, although that?s a long way in the future.
But based on what I?ve seen of these players in preseason, this team might turn out better than its record. And it should be fun to watch these guys develop.
Take a cue from Cubs manager Joe Maddon and focus on the process. It?ll make the journey ? especially this season ? a lot more fun.


--Journal Star